…Registration for the festival commences on Monday, September 14
By keeping faith with its plans of developmental agenda for the film sector, the Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) is planning to take 10 students to the United States of America for practical training in various aspects of filmmaking. This is in line with the vision of providing growth opportunities for graduates of the festival’s training program.
Founder/CEO of AFRIFF, Ms Chioma Ude, revealed to the media at her Victoria Island, Lagos office that; “The top 10 students would be picked from among the best that show the most aptitude during the AFRIFF organized training workshops during this year’s festival billed to hold from November 9 to November 16 at the Tinapa Business and Leisure Resort, Calabar, Cross River State. And. The training in America is planned as a reward scheme for these meritorious film students.”
She said AFRIFF has since its first edition in 2010, provided free training and talent development opportunities for young people and aspiring filmmakers.
Her words: “We have provided ground-breaking education in Film, Cinematography and Screen Writing for over 500 students. This, we have done in partnership with Sound & Motion Technical College and City Varsity, Cape Town, South Africa. We have also worked directly with students of the National Film Institute, Jos; the Creative Arts Department of University of Port-Harcourt; PEFTI Film Institute, Lagos, as well as other aspiring young film makers. We believe we can use this model for a social revolution that will change the economic horizon of the African film industry, by providing technical knowledge and skill sets to the abundant talents in our film community.
According to Ude, the skill acquisition and youth development initiative was conceived using filmmaking as a veritable vehicle for youth empowerment. Tagged AFRIFF Talent Development Workshops, the initiative provides beginners and intermediate courses for young people. AFRIFF also organizes master classes for more established filmmakers and professionals in the industry.
Ude also said that, “The scholarship will afford the students an opportunity of attending a short film course at a prestigious American university, which is a collaborative effort with a key AFRIFF partner. The aspects of filmmaking to be taught at the workshops this year will be acting, scriptwriting, directing and cinematography. AFRIFF 2014 team is currently resourcing for this year’s talent development training workshops in association with top industry partners who will also be announced later.”
The beneficiaries will be expected to shoot a short film after their course abroad, in fulfillment of their training billed to be entered into the festival’s students’ short category for the subsequent AFRIFF in 2015.
On the event proper, organisers say interested candidates for this year’s workshops should register at the new AFRIFF website, www.afriff.com, as only registered candidates will be eligible for shortlisting for the workshops. Registration for participation in all aspects at the festival begins from Monday, September 14, 2014.
For starters, AFRIFF, which was conceived by Ude is a world class showcase that presents a complete immersion into the world of film making. AFRIFF comes with participation from local and international actors, directors and scriptwriters, as well as cinematographers, sound engineers and musicians. Others involved are editors, light engineers, students, equipment manufacturers and businessmen.
The objectives, she says, “Are to develop the film industry to a level where the products compete favourably with their contemporaries all over the world. We provide a growth opportunity for these film industry professionals to eventually export their products to the world; facilitate access to investors, and equipment, as well as technical and skill acquisition. These are achieved through film festival organized fora and several capacity development workshops. We complement government’s efforts at revamping small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs).